“The perfect girl doesn’t exist,” men grumble online – that is, until they discover that Griffin Maria exists. Full-time model, cosplayer, and TTRPG (tabletop RPG) enthusiast, Griffin is basically all cool things rolled into one when it comes to the world of nerdy pleasures. And on top of that, she’s a lovely human being to boot. Get to know her in our exclusive Q&A.
Playboy: Where were you born and what was growing up like for you?
Griffin Maria: I was born in metro Detroit, Michigan. I lived there 18 years and then I moved here to Arizona. I was destined to get out of the snow, I knew it. I’m a sun baby, so I wanted to experience a hot life, literally.
Playboy: What were your school years like?
Griffin: I went to Catholic school my whole life – there’s tons of jokes to be made in that. I was a straight A student, I was already taking AP classes. I was also a cheerleader. Not in the sexy way, but I legitimately enjoyed stunting, throwing the girls, catching them, landing, flipping. That was my favorite thing.
I loved sports on my own — that wasn’t a thing I got from my dad, actually. And I loved academics, I loved learning.
I’ve never totally fit in, and I’ve never totally minded.
Playboy: What was the first thing you dreamed of achieving?
Griffin: When I was younger, my stepdad was a photographer for the University of Michigan. And I would go watch him with his big massive cameras. he would take these pictures of these girls flipping and landing in their poses. And I thought they were glamorous, so beautiful and strong. So I wanted to be a photographer, was what I said. But, in fourth grade when I was asked the question what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wrote “Dairy Queen worker” because I loved ice cream. And my mom said “You can’t write that!” So I scratched it out and I wrote “photographer.” But, my young dream was to own an ice cream shop.
I would love to sing, I would love to be a singer. My dad is a musician. He bought me a drum kit, piano lessons, all of that stuff. I wanted to do vocal lessons. My sister sounds like Adele, she has the voice of an angel. But when I sing, people are like “Can you not?”
Playboy: What are you passionate about?
Griffin: I am passionate about living a happy and fulfilling life. My dad died of cancer at 52. I’m now past half of that. I don’t want to limit how I live because I’m scared I won’t bounce back, or I’m scared to take the trips. I don’t live to work, I do work to live, but I love doing what I do. The fact I’m able to own land, own a house, I have a pool. I don’t take it for granted. I’m so thankful.
I’ve been dedicated to living my happiest version my whole life. All the jobs I’ve had were fun and creative. I worked at a pottery studio, I was a gymnastics coach. I only want to enjoy my time here as much as possible.
Playboy: What turns you on? Off?
Griffin: I love some smarts, I love witty, I love a person who can have a good conversation. Who can be engaged, has more to talk about. I love getting into the deeper questions of the world. That’s a turn-on. And creativity. I look for that in people I hang out with. I know the cookie-cutter lifestyle, and I have friends like that. We don’t have much to talk about except Disneyland.
Playboy: What people inspire you and why?
Griffin: These are the men that created the things I love: Gene Roddenbury created Star Trek. George Lucas created Star Wars. And my Dad created me. Those are the men that had visions, had time on this earth, and made a difference. It wasn’t perfect how they did it. Knowing that I wasn’t placed here just to be – I wanna do something – is what inspires me.
And then, women. Jane Fonda. Barbie Benton.
Playboy: What would the name of your autobiography be?
Griffin: “Try Harder.” I constantly have these things I call Griffinisms. I’ll say things that make sense to me, or make simple flubs here and there, and I call that a Griffinism. One time at a convention, this sweet, sweet old lady was trying to buy a novel from the fantasy series I am a part of. And I’m doing the checkout process, and she’s trying to sign with her finger. I’m all dressed up and I look all badass. And I say to her, “Try harder!” I meant pushing harder with your finger. But everyone around me was like “!!!”
Playboy: What inspired you to get into cosplay?
Griffin: I used to go to comic cons with a girlfriend back in Detroit. My first thing I ever wore was a sexy Mario. I would wear t-shirts to comic-cons, I always thought I was kind of fangirling, wearing fun earrings or colored eyeshadow. That was when I was younger.
When I was older, I went to cons, I said [to myself] “Hold up! I could walk around and be one of the ones taking pictures with people smiling and having a great time.” A friend introduced me to a tabletop group called Laughing Moon, which first and foremost produced a series of fantasy novels. Book [came] first, and then there was a game. I got involved with that. I wanted to be creating and dressing up as my own characters.
Griffin with the Laughing Moon team. Griffin Maria
The fantasy artwork of the ‘70s and ‘80s – Larry Elmore, Clyde Caldwell, how they drew these strong beautiful women – I was inspired by that, and I wanted to bring it to life.
Playboy: What were some of the first cosplays you ever did?
Griffin: I wish I was handily crafty, I wish I could sew. Best I got is cobbling pieces together, buying them. I worked with so many great costume designers, and I have these beautiful feathered wings from Poland.
Playboy: What’s your favorite cosplay that you’ve done so far?
Griffin: I have an original character. Her name is Marik and she is a faith-based character. When I started her, I wanted her to be a healer and have these black feathers because that’s part of her faith. As I started to play her at the table, she started to evolve. And the more ones I rolled when I was trying to save people, the more I realized Marik was being shaped into a negative force. Not by my choosing, but by the dice. For instance, I brought an undead dragon back and she killed a bunch of people in a town. So her character has changed over time, but she still has the black feathers.
I don’t know if you’re familiar with Clyde Caldwell’s painting “Potluck,” but I had the costume made so I could recreate it. And I actually emailed this to Clyde Caldwell, and it happened to be his birthday and he said it was the coolest birthday gift ever. And I ended up also sending him a photo of Marik too. And he said, “To be honest, I like your character a whole lot more than mine.”
Griffin’s recreation of Clyde Caldwell’s “Potluck.” Griffin Maria
Playboy: What is your dream cosplay you haven’t done yet?
Griffin: I have a few I’m working on. You know Xena? [The character] Callisto, she’s the girl that screams? I may do that with a video.
Griffin Maria is on the Playboy Club. Talk to her now.
